Merz Says Western Alliance Has Lifted ‘Absolutely’ All Range Limits For Arms Sent To Ukraine

On this extended Memorial Day weekend where many Americans will be spending time with family around the grill, and perhaps at local parades and remembrance events, the showdown between NATO and Russia in Ukraine just escalated in a big way.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has announced Monday that Germany, France, the UK and US have lifted prior restrictions on how far the weapons they supply to Ukraine can reach. “Absolutely no limits…,” he said.

“There are absolutely no range limits anymore for weapons delivered to Ukraine, not from Britain, the French or from us — also not from the Americans,” Merz said speaking at a national security forum in Berlin on Monday. “That means Ukraine can defend itself by attacking military positions also in Russia.”

Russian media very quickly seized on the comments as representing a major turning point in NATO policy vis-a-vis Ukraine. Bloomberg too has emphasized this gives Ukraine the “greenlight” to strike deep inside Russia.

Of course, any close observer of the war over much of the last year knows that the proverbial gloves have already been off for a long time, on a covert level at least. Ukrainian drones have been reaching far into Russian territory for years for many many months at this point, with US satellite and intelligence assistance.

Chancellor Merz made clear in the Monday remarks:

“There are no longer any range restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine, not from the British, not from the French, not from us, not from the Americans either. This means that Ukraine can now also defend itself by attacking military positions in Russia, for example. It couldn’t do that until some time ago, and with very few exceptions, it didn’t do that until some time ago.”

He claimed further, “Now it can. In jargon, we call this long-range fire, i.e., equipping Ukraine with weapons that attack military targets in the rear. And that is the decisive qualitative difference in Ukraine’s warfare. Russia attacks civilian targets absolutely ruthlessly, bombing cities, kindergartens, hospitals, and old people’s homes.” He added: “Ukraine does not do that.”

“And we attach great importance to keeping it that way,” Merz said. “But, a country that can only defend itself against an attacker on its own territory is not defending itself adequately. And this defense of Ukraine is now also taking place against military infrastructure on Russian territory.”

But again, long-range fire utilizing Western systems has been in effect for a while at this point, and cities and residential homes and neighborhoods have indeed been hit, and Russian civilians have died – just as has been happening in Ukraine as a result of Russian attacks.

Whether Washington, London, and Paris have actually pulled the trigger on making this decision ‘official’ is another question. The White House certainly hasn’t changed its public stance, and a moment President Trump has been piling on the pressure for each side to get to the negotiating table.

Europe’s decision, if there is one, to lift the missile range restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine is dangerous and is contrary to aspirations of reaching a settlement, Peskov said.

“The decisions, if indeed there are such decisions, are absolutely contrary to our… https://t.co/SpIOGoqlQ5 pic.twitter.com/L1qcicSxpl

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) May 26, 2025

The Kremlin responded later Monday with its own warning, with spokesman Dimitry Peskov saying that “If such decisions have indeed been made, they are entirely at odds with our aspirations for a political resolution and with the efforts currently being made toward a settlement.”

He then said ominously, “Quite dangerous decisions, again – if they were indeed made.”